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第18节

a daughter of eve-第18节

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were already brightening their myriad of brown twigs。 The shrubs; the

birches; the willows; the poplars were showing their first diaphanous

and tender foliage。 No soul resists these harmonies。 Love explained

Nature as it had already explained society to Marie's heart。



〃I wish you have never loved any one but me;〃 she said。



〃Your wish is realized;〃 replied Raoul。 〃We have awakened in each

other the only true love。〃



He spoke the truth as he felt it。 Posing before this innocent young

heart as a pure man; Raoul was caught himself by his own fine

sentiments。 At first purely speculative and born of vanity; his love

had now become sincere。 He began by lying; he had ended in speaking

truth。 In all writers there is ever a sentiment; difficult to stifle;

which impels them to admire the highest good。 The countess; on her

part; after her first rush of gratitude and surprise; was charmed to

have inspired such sacrifices; to have caused him to surmount such

difficulties。 She was beloved by a man who was worthy of her! Raoul

was totally ignorant to what his imaginary grandeur bound him。 Women

will not suffer their idol to step down from his pedestal。 They do not

forgive the slightest pettiness in a god。 Marie was far from knowing

the solution to the riddle given by Raoul to his friends at Very's。

The struggle of this writer; risen from the lower classes; had cost

him the ten first years of his youth; and now in the days of his

success he longed to be loved by one of the queens of the great world。

Vanity; without which; as Champfort says; love would be but a feeble

thing; sustained his passion and increased it day by day。



〃Can you swear to me;〃 said Marie; 〃that you belong and will never

belong to any other woman?〃



〃There is neither time in my life nor place in my heart for any other

woman;〃 replied Raoul; not thinking that he told a lie; so little did

he value Florine。



〃I believe you;〃 she said。



When they reached the alley where their carriages were waiting; Marie

dropped Raoul's arm; and the young man assumed a respectful and

distant attitude as if he had just met her; he accompanied her; with

his hat off; to her carriage; then he followed her by the Avenue

Charles X。; breathing in; with satisfaction; the very dust her caleche

raised。



In spite of Marie's high renunciations; Raoul continued to follow her

everywhere; he adored the air of mingled pleasure and displeasure with

which she scolded him for wasting his precious time。 She took

direction of his labors; she gave him formal orders on the employment

of his time; she stayed at home to deprive him of every pretext for

dissipation。 Every morning she read his paper; and became the herald

of his staff of editors; of Etienne Lousteau the feuilletonist; whom

she thought delightful; of Felicien Vernou; of Claude Vignon;in

short; of the whole staff。 She advised Raoul to do justice to de

Marsay when he died; and she read with deep emotion the noble eulogy

which Raoul published upon the dead minister while blaming his

Machiavelianism and his hatred for the masses。 She was present; of

course; at the Gymnase on the occasion of the first representation of

the play upon the proceeds of which Nathan relied to support his

enterprise; and was completely duped by the purchased applause。



〃You did not bid farewell to the Italian opera;〃 said Lady Dudley; to

whose house she went after the performance。



〃No; I went to the Gymnase。 They gave a first representation。〃



〃I can't endure vaudevilles。 I am like Louis XIV。 about Teniers;〃 said

Lady Dudley。



〃For my part;〃 said Madame d'Espard; 〃I think actors have greatly

improved。 Vaudevilles in the present day are really charming comedies;

full of wit; requiring great talent; they amuse me very much。〃



〃The actors are excellent; too;〃 said Marie。 〃Those at the Gymnase

played very well to…night; the piece pleased them; the dialogue was

witty and keen。〃



〃Like those of Beaumarchais;〃 said Lady Dudley。



〃Monsieur Nathan is not Moliere as yet; but〃 said Madame d'Espard;

looking at the countess。



〃He makes vaudevilles;〃 said Madame Charles de Vandenesse。



〃And unmakes ministries;〃 added Madame de Manerville。



The countess was silent; she wanted to answer with a sharp repartee;

her heart was bounding with anger; but she could find nothing better

to say than;



〃He will make them; perhaps。〃



All the women looked at each other with mysterious significance。 When

Marie de Vandenesse departed Moina de Saint…Heren exclaimed:



〃She adores him。〃



〃And she makes no secret of it;〃 said Madame d'Espard。







CHAPTER VII



SUICIDE



In the month of May Vandenesse took his wife; as usual; to their

country…seat; where she was consoled by the passionate letters she

received from Raoul; to whom she wrote every day。



Marie's absence might have saved Raoul from the gulf into which he was

falling; if Florine had been near him; but; unfortunately; he was

alone in the midst of friends who had become his enemies from the

moment that he showed his intention of ruling them。 His staff of

writers hated him 〃pro tem。;〃 ready to hold out a hand to him and

console him in case of a fall; ready to adore him in case of success。

So goes the world of literature。 No one is really liked but an

inferior。 Every man's hand is against him who is likely to rise。 This

wide…spread envy doubles the chances of common minds who excite

neither envy nor suspicion; who make their way like moles; and; fools

though they be; find themselves gazetted in the 〃Moniteur;〃 for three

or four places; while men of talent are still struggling at the door

to keep each other out。



The underhand enmity of these pretended friends; which Florine would

have scented with the innate faculty of a courtesan to get at truth

amid a thousand misleading circumstances; was by no means Raoul's

greatest danger。 His partners; Massol the lawyer; and du Tillet the

banker; had intended from the first to harness his ardor to the

chariot of their own importance and get rid of him as soon as he was

out of condition to feed the paper; or else to deprive him of his

power; arbitrarily; whenever it suited their purpose to take it。 To

them Nathan represented a certain amount of talent to use up; a

literary force of the motive power of ten pens to employ。 Massol; one

of those lawyers who mistake the faculty of endless speech for

eloquence; who possess the art of boring by diffusiveness; the torment

of all meetings and assemblies where they belittle everything; and who

desire to become personages at any cost;Massol no longer wanted the

place as Keeper of the Seals; he had seen some five or six different

men go through that office in four years; and the robes disgusted him。

In exchange; his mind was now set on obtaining a chair on the Board of

Education and a place in the Council of State; the whole adorned with

the cross of the Legion of honor。 Du Tillet and Nucingen had

guaranteed the cross to him; and the office of Master of Petitions

provided he obeyed them blindly。



The better to deceive Raoul; these men allowed him to manage the paper

without control。 Du Tillet used it only for his stock…gambling; about

which Nathan understood next to nothing; but he had given; through

Nucingen; an assurance to Rastignac that the paper would be tacitly

obliging to the government on the sole condition of supporting his

candidacy for Monsieur de Nucingen's place as soon as he was nominated

peer of France。 Raoul was thus being undermined by the banker and the

lawyer; who saw him with much satisfaction lording it in the

newspaper; profiting by all advantages; and harvesting the fruits of

self…love; while Nathan; enchanted; believed them to be; as on the

occasion of his equestrian wants; the best fellows in the world。 He

thought he managed them! Men of imagination; to whom hope is the basis

of existence; never allow themselves to know that the most perilous

moment in their affairs is that when all seems going well according to

their wishes。



This was a period of triumph by which Nathan profited。 He appeared as

a personage in the world; political and financial。 Du Tillet presented

him to the Nucingens。 Madame de Nucingen received him cordially; less

for himself than for Madame de Vandenesse; but when she ventured a few

words about the countess he thought himself marvellously clever in

using Florine as a shield; he alluded to his relations with the

actress in a tone of generous self…conceit。 How could he desert a

great devotion; for the coquetries of the faubourg Saint…Germain?



Nathan; manipulated by Nucingen and Rastignac; by du Tillet and

Blondet; gave his support ostentatiously to the 〃doctrinaires〃 of

their new and ephemeral cabinet。 But in order to show himself pure of

all bribery he refused to take advantage of certain profitable

enterprises which were started by mean

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